Cheers guys, noway am I getting somethin tha ADDS distortion to my system!
Back to source, I'm going to look again at opamp choices for my 7520 Caiman, there was a distinct change in sound "flavour" using different opamps, and that's where Im looking first.
Ive the LM4562 in at the moment, and I've found it no to be the most "warm n cosy" sounding amp, so will try a few alternatives.
Another theory I have is that the dac sound has changed (which it did) when I lined the Dacs case with Dynamat-like sheet. The bass tightened up considerably and perhaps my ears are just adjusting to the different sound with a lot less "resonant" low end?
Maybe a sweetspot will happen with a particular opamp...?
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4
DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
SPEAKER CABLES
Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables